Department for Transport

Bicycles and Electric Vehicles: Parking

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to control secure (a) e-bike and (b) e-scooter parking in identified parking areas; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals on the creation of (i) regulations and (ii) parking infrastructure for (A) e-bikes and (B) e-scooter hire schemes.

Jesse Norman: E-bikes follow the same traffic rules as bicycles, so that it is an offence for them to obstruct the highway, including the pavement. In some cases, e-bikes may be parked on the pavement if they do not cause an obstruction. An obstruction is an offence under the Highways Act and is enforceable by the police. E-scooter rental trials are live in 25 areas across England, were launched in July 2020, and will be running until 31 May 2024. The Department has also published guidance for local authorities and e-scooter operators on running trials. It has required them to engage with local police forces and accessibility groups in designing their proposals, to mitigate potential non-compliance and manage e-scooter parking. When parliamentary time allows, The Government intends to introduce legislation which would enable local authorities to manage rental services of bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. This will allow them to regulate rental micromobility schemes and tailor them to local priorities and considerations while still ensuring a baseline national standard of service provision. It would also include the ability to manage fleet sizes, parking arrangements and access to the rental market.

Railways: East of England

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to report by the East of England APPG and East of England Local Government Association entitled Levelling Up The East of England: 2023-2030, published in December 2022, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of future rail revenue investment in the East of England.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the status of East of England regional capital projects in the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Merriman: Ministers are rightly taking the proper time to review the rail enhancements portfolio and ensure that the schemes within it reflect the priorities of the government. Ministers are reviewing the RNEP update which will be published shortly.

Department for Transport: Public Expenditure

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's spending per head of population broken down by each region in England for each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: Figures on public sector expenditure at national and regional levels are published as part of HM Treasury’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics (Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2022/country-and-regional-analysis-november-2022). Applying regional population estimates to these figures allows for a view of per capita spend by region.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish the outcome of its consultation into policy design features for the car and van zero emission vehicle mandate; and whether he will outline what plans the Government has to introduce such a mandate.

Jesse Norman: Responses to the technical consultation are being analysed and the Government will publish its response, and a full regulatory proposal and cost benefit analysis, in due course.

Taxis: Disability

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 in ensuring that disabled people are able to access (a) taxis and (b) other private hire vehicles.

Mr Richard Holden: The duties introduced by the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 only came into force in June 2022, and it is too early to assess their impact.We will monitor the effectiveness of the 2022 Act through engagement with stakeholders and the regular reviewing of relevant statistics.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the motorway speed limit to 80mph.

Mr Richard Holden: A previous Government made an initial assessment of the possibility of introducing trials of 80 mph limits.The safety of road users is our priority, and any change to speed limits would be evidence-led, looking at the impact on safety, air quality and carbon emissions as well as road conditions.

Public Transport: Disability

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Inclusive Transport Strategy, published on 25 July 2018, what recent progress his Department has made on helping to ensure equal access for people with disabilities on public transport.

Mr Richard Holden: Good progress has been made on the Inclusive Transport Strategy (ITS), and the majority of commitments have now been completed.In the last year, the Department has delivered a number of commitments from the ITS, including:consulting on best practice guidance for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing and proposing updated guidance on disability awareness training;working with the aviation sector, consumer and disability groups to develop and publish the Aviation Passenger Charter, providing a single point of information for consumers on their rights and responsibilities;delivering a further round of our “It’s Everyone’s Journey” campaign, aiming to raise public awareness of the needs of disabled passengers when travelling.We are committed to delivering the remaining ITS commitments. In January 2022, the Department published a baseline evaluation report, which provides a detailed picture of disabled people’s experience using the transport network as we work towards full implementation of the ITS. This will be used as a baseline for future evaluation, including the annual scorecard of disabled people’s experiences using the transport network. The next scorecard is due to be published this spring, and a final evaluation report will be published in 2024.

Ministry of Defence

Russia: Terrorism

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential threat to the domestic security of NATO members of (a) the Russian Imperial Movement and (b) other GRU-affiliated groups.

James Heappey: The numerous efforts of the GRU and other Russian agencies to interfere in democratic elections and domestic disputes around the world are well documented. GRU officers deployed nerve agents in Salisbury, whilst cyber hacking and targeted assassinations emanate from the Russian state.The Secretary of State for Defence will next meet with his NATO counterparts on 14 February at the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels, where threats to NATO's interests will be discussed.

Russia: Arms Trade

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the NATO Secretary General on ending the export of defence equipment to Russia by NATO members.

James Heappey: We are not aware of any NATO Allies exporting defence equipment to Russia. The Secretary of State for Defence routinely engages with his NATO counterparts and the NATO Secretary General regarding NATO's posture towards Russia.

F-35 Aircraft: Crew

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many pilots have been refused clearance to fly F-35 fast jets due to weight restrictions.

James Heappey: No Royal Navy or Royal Air Force pilots have been refused clearance to fly the F-35 due to weight restrictions.

F-35 Aircraft and Typhoon Aircraft: Crew

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum weight requirements for pilots is to be able to fly (i) Typhoons and (ii) F-35s.

James Heappey: The minimum and maximum weight requirements for pilots, without clothing or equipment, for each of the aircraft requested is below:Typhoon - 51 - 111 kgsLightning - 150 - 245 lbs

Ukraine: Civil Defence

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government is providing (a) early warning systems for air and missile strikes and (b) other forms of civil defence to Ukraine.

James Heappey: The UK has bolstered Ukraine's ability to detect Russian attacks from the air by gifting dozens of air defence radars. These provide early warning against both Russian cruise missiles and Iranian supplied one-way drones. Training on this capability is underway in the UK for Ukrainian armed forces. UK Teams continue to provide specialist advice on the protection of critical infrastructure and a variety of other protective equipment.

Airspace: Defence

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the threat posed to UK interests by spy balloons operated by adversaries in UK airspace.

James Heappey: We keep all potential threats under review to help protect the UK. The Department is not aware of any spy balloons operated by adversaries that have entered UK airspace. We also work very closely with our partner nations intelligence agencies to understand the capabilities of such systems.

Airspace: Defence

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to counter spy balloons in UK airspace.

James Heappey: The UK has a credible cross-domain, multi-layered capability to counter any threat to UK airspace.

Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Military Aid for Civilian Authority requests have been (a) received and (b) approved by his Department in January 2023.

James Heappey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 8 and 19 December 2022 to Questions 100894 and 110570 respectively.Military Aid (docx, 23.9KB)

Airspace

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Russian and (b) Chinese spy balloons have been reported in the airspace of (i) the UK and (ii) NATO members in each year since 2019.

James Heappey: We are not aware of any reports of either Russian or Chinese spy balloons in UK airspace in any year since 2019. The airspace of individual NATO allies would be the responsibility of each NATO member country.

Cabinet Office: Public Opinion

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Minister or official authorised the 77th Brigade to collect data related to public statements, social media and internet activity as part of its work.

James Heappey: 77th Brigade was created in 2015 and conducts information operations, including information activity and outreach, across a range of disciplines. This includes collecting, creating, and disseminating digital and wider media content in support of designated tasks. Like many Armed Forces units, 77th Brigade supported the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provided support to the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, who were working to counter disinformation.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of the (a) purchase, (b) maintenance, (c) sustainment and (d) retrofitting of his Department's fleet of Airbus H135 helicopters in the last five years.

Alex Chalk: Under the terms of the UK Military Flying Training System contract, the Ministry of Defence pays for a service provision of 29 Airbus H135 (known as the Juno HT Mk1) and seven Airbus H145 (Jupiter HT Mk 1) helicopters as part of the Rotary Wing Flying Training requirement. This cost covers both helicopter types and includes the flying training service, the aircraft purchase, maintenance, sustainment and any modifications, therefore it is not possible to provide the specified level of detail.With respect to the H135 helicopters procured for Project MATCHA, the cost of purchase was £35.28 million. These did not enter the In-Service phase and so there was no commitment to maintenance or sustainment.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2022 to Question 80975, whether the findings in the 2015 report entitled Paramilitary Groups in Northern Ireland still reflects his assessment of links between the Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein in 2023.

Mr Steve Baker: This Government’s first priority is to keep people safe and secure across the United Kingdom. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and security partners continue to work to keep the people of Northern Ireland safe, including monitoring the continuing threat from paramilitary and terrorist groups.

Belfast Agreement

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, further to the Answer of 20 December to Question 109699, on Belfast Agreement, how much has been identified under the budgetary arrangements for Government activity to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement.

Mr Steve Baker: The Government is steadfast in its commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the hard-won gains of the peace process and to marking the Agreement’s 25th anniversary appropriately. At this time, a core budget of £575,671 has been allocated to deliver the Northern Ireland Office’s own programme of activity. In Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced a fund of up to £2 million for the Department for International Trade (now known as The Department for Business and Trade) to: “work with local partners including Invest Northern Ireland to host a trade and investment event in Northern Ireland in 2023.” This is designed to be part of events to mark the 25th anniversary. The UK Government’s wider programme of activity in the anniversary year also includes programming taking place in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office diplomatic network.

Northern Ireland Protocol

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much the Government has spent so far on defending the legal case on the lawfulness of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Steve Baker: The Government has spent £196,567 on fees associated with the legal challenges of Clifford Peeples and Jim Allister and others.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Birth Certificates

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,  if he will publish a list of the circumstances in which a person is required by law to produce or show their birth certificate in a health setting.

Neil O'Brien: We are not aware of a legal requirement for a birth certificate as the only valid identification for services in the National Health Service.

Preventive Medicine

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the research by the Centre for Health Economics at York, entitled Is an Ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure? Estimates of the Impact of English Public Health Grant on Mortality and Morbidity, published July 2019, if he will make an assessment of the impact for his policies of the findings of that research.

Neil O'Brien: This study is one of the evidence sources that has been drawn on to inform decisions about funding for public health services. The 2021 Spending Review confirmed that the public health grant to local authorities would increase over the settlement period. In 2022/23, the Grant increased by 2.81% to £3.417 billion.

Public Health: Finance

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the publication date for public health grant allocations for financial year 2023-24 is not aligned with the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Neil O'Brien: The public health grant funding to local authorities in England is not part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.We will announce the 2023/24 public health grant allocations to local authorities shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, following the letter from Councillor Joanne Green dated 16 January 2023, if he will consider meeting with Manchester City Council Health Scrutiny Committee.

Will Quince: We have received the Councillor’s correspondence of 16 January 2023 and will respond in due course.

Hospitals: Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the estimated cost of awaiting maintenance projects at (a) all NHS Hospitals, (b) hospitals within the management of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and (c) Bridlington Hospital in East Yorkshire; what steps he plans to take to reduce the cost of these projects; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The 2021/22 publication of the Estates Return Information Collection sets out the latest data on backlog maintenance costs across the National Health Service acute estate. Data covers four levels of risk maintenance (low, moderate, significant, and high). This shows the following: for all hospitals in England total backlog maintenance costs stand at £10.2 billion; the sites reported under York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have total backlog maintenance costs of £36,454,338; and Bridlington Hospital in East Yorkshire has total backlog maintenance costs of £5,994,670.This Government is investing record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings, including £4 billion this year and £12 billion over the next three years. This includes £39 million for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as part of the ‘Hospital Upgrades’ programme.

NHS: Agency Workers

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spent on agencies in each year since 2012; and what proportion that spend is of the NHS budget in each of those years.

Will Quince: The table below sets out the agency spend for the years 2011/12 to 2020/21 and its proportion against the National Health Service budget for those years. 2021/22 data for agency is yet to be validated and published.YearTotal agency spend £ billionsProportion of NHS budget2011/121.691.78%2012/132.092.13%2013/142.552.72%2014/153.333.43%2015/163.703.67%2016/172.932.77%2017/182.402.19%2018/192.392.09%2019/202.381.92%2020/212.441.7% NHS budget data source: HM Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses and the data is NHS RDEL, available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-expenditure-statistical-analyses-pesa

Health services: Empty Property

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with NHS Property Services on taking steps to use former NHS facilities for step-down healthcare provision.

Will Quince: Integrated care boards are responsible for considering the differing demands and requirements for healthcare services in their locality and then planning, commissioning and paying for services from appropriate providers such as the National Health Service, general practices or Local Authorities. A range of primary and community care services are provided out of buildings and facilities owned and/or managed by NHS Property Services Ltd (NHSPS). NHSPS works closely with local systems to understand their estates needs and to make their properties available to meet these requirements. Where the relevant local commissioner has declared properties surplus to NHS requirements they are vacated; following this it is important that these assets are sold as quickly as possible to avoid further cost for the NHS.

Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidelines and grounds for exclusion from bidding for public procurement contracts his Department has in place which relate to a company's prior conduct or other specific situations.

Will Quince: Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 includes a range of mandatory and discretionary supplier exclusion grounds under which “a supplier must or can be excluded from government procurements”. Authorities must exclude bidders when it has been verified or it is known that the bidder has been found guilty of specific crimes under United Kingdom law e.g. bribery or fraud. Other parts of Regulation 57 allow, but do not call for, authorities to exclude bidders in certain circumstances. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/regulation/57/made

Allergies: Waiting Lists

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of referral waiting times for allergy tests.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for patients who require allergy tests.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce the NHS backlog and (b) ensure that patients who need to be tested for allergies have timely access to allergy clinics.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce referral waiting times for patients with allergies who need to be tested by an allergy specialist.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve waiting times for patients who require to be tested for allergies.

Will Quince: Specialist allergy services are commissioned by NHS England Specialised Commissioning in line with the published service specification. While no specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of waiting times, the service specification sets out standard referral processes and equity of access to services, as well as highlighting the response time and prioritisation targets. There are regular review meetings between regional commissioning teams and providers to ensure compliance with service standards. To reduce waiting times more generally for elective services, the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to work with international partners to prevent another pandemic.

Will Quince: The UK is a prominent and active Member State of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and member of the Group of 20 (G20) and Group of 7 (G7). We work together with international partners in these fora to tackle some of the biggest health challenges of our time to make the world a safer and healthier place, including strengthening the global health architecture for health emergencies preparedness, prevention and response. This includes a focus on tackling anti-microbial resistance, promoting the One Health approach, strengthening surveillance, discussing effective pandemic financing and the future of multilateral coordination on pandemic countermeasures, such as vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.The UK works closely with the World Health Organization, which has an important role in responding to health emergencies, and uses its attendance at WHO meetings, including WHO governing body meetings, as an opportunity to work with WHO and its member states, ensuring the lessons learned from Covid-19 are applied. The UK is also actively contributing to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, where WHO Member States are negotiating a pandemic instrument to provide the long-term, overarching framework to tackle pandemic threats and outbreaks, and the Working Group on Amendments to the international health regulations.

Electronic Cigarettes: Regulation

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2023 to Question 129765 on Electronic Cigarettes: Regulation, whether he has had discussions with Trading Standards Authorities on e-cigarette manufacturer Elf Bar overfilling e-cigarette devices.

Neil O'Brien: The Department was recently made aware of possible breaches of our vaping (e-cigarettes) regulations related to disposable vapes exceeding the restrictions on tank capacity. We are working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to investigate the matter further and we have discussed this with Trading Standards Authorities.

Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Regulation

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward changes to the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 to increase penalties on manufacturers found to be in breach of those regulations.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to increase the penalties beyond those set out in regulation 51 of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

Health Services: Undocumented Migrants

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost of providing healthcare to people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in each of the last three years.

Neil O'Brien: We do not have estimates of the costs of providing healthcare to people who have crossed the English Channel by small boats. A breakdown of healthcare costs for people who have entered the country this way is not available.Healthcare for those seeking asylum is delivered by a number of bodies, reflecting different parts of an individual’s journey through the immigration system.Information about healthcare for migrants is in the Department’s Migrant Health Guide and available at the following link:www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-entitlements-migrant-health-guide

Dementia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the potential link between weight gain and dementia in middle-aged people.

Neil O'Brien: The Government announced on 24 January that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy that sets out a shift to an integrated, whole-person approach that will better care for those with multiple and complex conditions. The major conditions this will focus on include dementia and cardiovascular diseases. An interim report will be published in the summer.We are delivering an ambitious programme of work to create a healthier environment to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight. We are also supporting the NHS Health Check programme to better detect and manage conditions early.

Insomnia

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve health outcomes for people with insomnia.

Neil O'Brien: Through ‘Advancing Our Health: Prevention in the 2020s’, the Government committed to review the evidence on sleep and health. That review has been undertaken, and the outcomes will be published in due course.

Integrated Care Boards: Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to assess the adequacy of the support that the NHS provides to Integration Care Boards on dental service provision.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population. Many of these functions will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023, who will work with commissioners and providers.Prior to delegation decisions being taken, NHS England undertook a comprehensive assessment to ensure ICBs were ready to take on commissioning responsibility for delegated functions. NHS England has published an Assurance Framework to ensure that commissioning functions are carried out safely and effectively by ICBs. NHS England is providing support to all ICBs during the transition period.

Care Homes: Dental Services

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that residents in care homes can access a dentist.

Neil O'Brien: Community dental services (CDS) offer dental care to vulnerable patients who are referred by a general practitioners or Social Worker and cannot be treated in a general National Health Service dental practice. Treatments are provided in settings including hospitals, specialist health centres and mobile clinics, as well as through home visits or visits in nursing and care homes. NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population, including for people in care homes. Many of the dentistry commissioning functions undertaken by NHS England will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023. ICBs will be responsible for meeting the needs of its local population by working with patient groups, including on communication needs. NHS England has made available to commissioners an Assurance Framework to provide assurances on commissioning.

Familial Hypercholesterolaemia: Screening

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national strategy on Familial Hypercholesterolaemia.

Neil O'Brien: The Department and NHS England have not made an assessment on the potential merits of introducing a national strategy on Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH).In April 2020, following a review of the evidence, the UK National Screening Committee concluded a national screening programme for FH was not recommended.The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding access to genetic testing for FH, with the ambition to improve diagnosis to at least 25% by March 2024 through the NHS Genomics Programme. The NHS Health Check, England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, aims to prevent CVD among healthy adults aged 40-74 years old through earlier awareness and management of six of the top risk factors for CVD, with cholesterol among the assessed risk factors.

Insomnia: Health Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating patients with insomnia.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made by the Department or NHS England of the annual cost to the National Health Service for treating patients with insomnia.

Sepsis: Death and Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) diagnosis, (b) patient management, (c) requestion tests, (d) patient reviews and (e) other aspects of the management of sepsis by NHS Trusts; and if he will commission a review of deaths from sepsis to identify (i) clinical errors and (ii) best practice in the management of patients.

Neil O'Brien: The Department works closely with NHS England and other partners in the health system to support healthcare professionals to detect and treat sepsis. Reports of patient safety events from all trusts in the National Health Service, including on sepsis, are used by NHS England to identify new or under recognised patient safety issues, further areas of review and appropriate action required.The Secretary of State receives Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports, issued by a Coroner in the event of an avoidable death, including from sepsis, outlining any clinical, administrative or policy errors. The Secretary of State has a legal duty to provide a response within 56 calendar days outlining action taken, or proposed and setting out a timetable for action. PFD reports and their responses are published online by the Chief Coroner’s Office.The responsibility for specific assessments and reviews of sepsis management by NHS Trusts falls to local providers of healthcare.

Prescription Drugs: Addictions

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 August 2022 to Question 39893 on Prescription Drugs: Addictions, when NHS England plans to publish its framework to support integrated care boards with prescribing medicines that can cause dependence and withdrawal.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England’s ‘Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: Framework for action for integrated care boards and primary care’ will be published in Spring 2023.

Hospitals: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of asking primary care services to operate step-down facilities to help increase the rate of hospital discharge.

Neil O'Brien: We have no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of asking primary care services to operate step-down facilities to help increase the rate of hospital discharge.Working with local authorities and voluntary and community partners, NHS England has begun to develop and pilot a new approach to intermediate care. Initial learning emerging from the pilot sites will be available by April 2023, and this will support more widespread adoption and implementation during 2023/24. By autumn 2023, NHS England will develop a new planning framework and national standard for rapid discharge into intermediate care, building on the learning from the pilot sites.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 105556 on Sickle Cell Diseases, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing (a) funding and (b) staffing levels for sickle cell services.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2022 to Question 105558 on Sickle Cell Diseases, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of simplifying the administration of pain relief for sickle cell patients.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made by the NHS England National Specialised Commissioning Team on the potential merits of simplifying the administration of pain relief for Sickle Cell patients or, of increasing funding and staffing levels for sickle cell services. However the National Sickle Pain Group, a sub-group of the Specialised Commissioning Haemoglobinopathies Clinical Reference Group, has produced guidance for hospitals to improve the care for sickle cell patients presenting with acute sickle pain and are working on an associated acute pain audit to measure the time to first analgesia universally across England.NHS England has launched an end to end sickle cell clinical pathway review led by the Health Inequalities Improvement team. The end to end clinical pathway for patients with Sickle Cell Disease is being reviewed to identify opportunities for delivering improvements. The review is at an early stage but has highlighted a number of opportunities to improve current services, including in relation to workforce, the digitalisation of care plans and general education of the public about the condition.In addition, NHS England is undertaking an exercise to assess compliance of Specialist Haemoglobinopathy Teams and Haemoglobinopathy Co-ordinating Centres with the respective service specifications which are published on the Haemoglobinopathies Clinical Reference Group webpage.

General Practitioners

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support general practitioners to (a) provide the best care possible, (b) manage their workload and (c) cope with increasing budgetary pressures.

Neil O'Brien: We will launch a recovery plan for general practice (GPs) in the coming weeks. This will focus on supporting GPs through providing them with the technology and tools that will help them deal with ever-increasing demand. Since September 2022 Our Plan for Patients has helped practices to recruit more support staff so GPs can spend their time doing the tasks only a GP can do and put in place state-of-the art telephone systems to make it easier to manage demand, triage callers, and ensure patients are seen at the right time by the right clinician for their needs.In 2019 we agreed a five year GP contract framework with the British Medical Association (BMA) which was underpinned by a record level of additional investment. This was underpinned by an additional £4.5 billion for primary and community care by 2023/24 as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. We invested a further £1.5 billion announced in 2020 to create an additional 50 million GP appointments by 2024 by increasing and diversifying the workforce. We also made £520 million available to improve access and expand general practice capacity during the pandemic. As agreed with the general practitioners committee of the BMA in 2019 as part of the five-year GP contract, the investment envelope is fixed, and no further funding will be provided. The five year framework ends in March 2024. Future funding arrangements for GP will be considered in due course.As part of the 2020/21 GP contract to help maximise the time available for clinical tasks, the Government committed to a thorough review of levels of bureaucracy in GPs. As part of this work, in August 2022, a cross-Government concordat was published setting out seven principles to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in general practice. The Department is continuing to work across Government and with the National Health Service to implement the solutions that emerge.We recognise that high workloads can act as a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. The expanded primary care teams funded through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme will add extra clinical capacity Public sector businesses are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, and so have the unit price of energy capped. HM Treasury have announced that from April 2023, a new scheme, the Energy Bills Discount Scheme to support businesses. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets.We have accepted the independent pay review body’s (the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration) recommendation. The minimum and maximum pay thresholds for salaried GPs are being uplifted by 4.5%. The multi-year GP Contract provides funding clarity and certainty to practices until 2023/24. The agreed investment envelope is fixed and the core settlement covers all aspects of practice income and expenses, including salaried GP pay. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for GP practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees and themselves within the agreed GP contract funding envelope.GP contractors are entitled to financial assistance or reimbursement of premises costs, including notional or actual rent, business rates, water rates, and clinical waste disposal. The commissioner has discretion to provide further financial assistance if other costs rise exponentially, such as service charges, all budget dependent.

Blood: Donors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to encourage more blood donations across the UK.

Neil O'Brien: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service and the Welsh Blood Service are responsible for raising awareness of blood donation in the United Kingdom. Since September 2021, the science relating to blood, organ and stem cell donation is taught as part of the secondary school curriculum in England, aimed at promoting awareness of donation in young people. NHSBT uses a range of media, marketing activity, donor and patient case studies, partnerships and engagement with faith organisations to raise awareness. NHSBT’s Community Investment Scheme committed £400,000 to support 35 grassroot, community and faith-based organisations to drive awareness, understanding and behaviour change. NHSBT continues to invest and prioritise the diversification of the donor base, in particular, increasing donations from people of Black heritage, to support the changing demographics of NHS patients. NHSBT marked black history month launching it’s ‘Not Family, But Blood’ campaign with Marvel Studios. This high-profile campaign led to an additional 884 people of Black heritage signing up to donate on the first day.

NHS Walk-in Centres: Preventive Medicine

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the role of walk-in centres in preventative healthcare.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made. Although there is variation in nomenclature and services provided, Walk-in Centres are typically Type three accident and emergency services (similar to Urgent Treatment Centres, Minor Injury Units, or Urgent Care Centres). A defining characteristic of a service qualifying as a Type three department is that it treats at least minor injuries and illnesses and such services can involve elements of preventative advice relevant to a condition with which someone presents.

General Practitioners: Bradford East

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP surgeries were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Bradford East constituency as of 6 February 2023.

Neil O'Brien: As of 7 February 2023, 19 general practice surgeries (100%) were rated by Care Quality Commission as good in Bradford East constituency.

Ophthalmology: Training

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of doctors entering ophthalmology specialist training.

Neil O'Brien: As of October 2022, there were a total of 2,974 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the Ophthalmology specialism in the National Health Service in England. This is an increase of 84 (2.9%) from October 2021. Of the 2,974 FTE doctors in the Ophthalmology specialism, there are 892 FTE doctors in training grades. This is an increase of 41 (4.9%) since October 2021.Ophthalmology training places were increased in 2022 and further places are planned for 2023. The Government has also funded 1,500 more medical school places each year for domestic students in England, a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England. This expansion will increase the supply pipeline in coming years for qualified doctors, including ophthalmologists.

Visual Impairment: Innovation

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of new technologies in reducing waiting times for patients living with sight loss.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England’s transformation programme is considering how eye care services should be commissioned for the future, this includes considering a greater role for technology that could allow more patients to be managed in the community, supported virtually through image sharing with specialists in NHS Trusts. This could allow a greater use of the primary care workforce to alleviate pressures in secondary care.

Dental Services

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentist practices there were in England in each of the last five years.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentist practices have gone private in each of the last five years.

Neil O'Brien: The information requested is not held centrally.

Sepsis: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that every hospital employs a specialist in sepsis treatment.

Neil O'Brien: The Department works closely with NHS England and other partners in the health system to support healthcare professionals to detect and treat sepsis. However, the responsibility for decisions on employment of treatment specialists, including for sepsis, falls to individual providers of healthcare.

General Practitioners: Contracts

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) GMS and (b) PMS contracts for GP services have been handed back in each year since 2018 up to 26 January 2023.

Neil O'Brien: This data is not held in the format requested.

Air Pollution: Health

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the consequences for his policies of the long-term (a) health impact of air pollution and (b) cost of treatments in the NHS associated with such pollution.

Neil O'Brien: Air pollution has a significant effect on people’s health and poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the United Kingdom. Long-term exposure to air pollution can cause chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has estimated that long-term exposure to air pollution in the UK has an annual effect equivalent to 29,000 to 43,000 deaths.Between 2017 and 2025 the total cost to the national health service and social care from air pollution in England has been estimated, by Public Health England, to be £1.6 billion for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) combined where there is robust evidence for an association between exposure and disease; where the evidence is less robust the estimated cost is £2.81 billion for PM2.5 and £2.75 billion for NO2.Implementation of the Government’s policies to improve air quality will therefore support better health and help mitigate demand for health and care services.

Sepsis: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage research into the (a) diagnosis and (b) management of sepsis.

Neil O'Brien: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since 2017 the NIHR has funded 14 research projects on sepsis diagnosis with a combined total funding value of over £14.3 million and nine research projects on sepsis management with a combined total funding value of over £12.7 million. The NIHR Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre, which helps patients, the public and health and care organisations to participate in high quality research, has also supported 28 studies on sepsis diagnosis and 36 studies on sepsis management since 2017.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the diagnosis and management of sepsis.

HIV Infection: Screening

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the (a) Welsh, (b) Scottish and (c) Northern Irish governments on taking steps to introduce a UK-wide HIV testing week.

Neil O'Brien: No discussions have taken placed around introducing a United Kingdom wide HIV testing week.Health is a devolved matter and it is the responsibility of individual Governments to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need.

HIV Infection: Screening

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an HIV testing week.

Neil O'Brien: The HIV Action Plan 2022/25 for England includes a commitment to deliver National HIV Testing Week in England, an annual campaign which increases awareness and acceptability of HIV testing and aims to reduce barriers to access.HIV Prevention England operates the annual National HIV Testing week campaign, on behalf of the Department, which is taking place between 6 February and 12 February 2023.

Sepsis: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all healthcare professionals receive training on (a) diagnosing, (b) managing and (c) testing for sepsis.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England drives awareness of the identification, diagnosis and management of sepsis among healthcare professionals through a range of activities, including: promotion of the National Early Warning Score (NEW2); socialisation of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ recommendations on ‘the initial antimicrobial treatment of sepsis’; publication of key recommendations for improving the blood culture pathway as a vital diagnostic test for sepsis; and continued use of a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to drive recognition of sepsis in hospitals. Additionally, Health Education England has a large number of sepsis resources and training tools aimed at raising awareness of sepsis amongst healthcare professionals that are available online.

Ophthalmic Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to capture data on delays in follow-up appointments for ophthalmology services.

Neil O'Brien: National Health Service providers should already collect data setting out the earliest and latest clinically appropriate date a patient should be reviewed. NHS Trusts’ collection and use of this data is routinely captured and published on the Model Health System, which is a data-driven improvement tool supporting health and care systems to improve patient outcomes.

HIV Infection: Cooperation

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on potential joint working to help reach zero HIV transmissions by 2030.

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on potential joint working to reach zero HIV transmissions by 2030.

Neil O'Brien: Health is a devolved matter, though officials at the Department continue to meet with counterparts from Scotland and Wales to share information to help end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Pharmacy

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help community pharmacies increase their capacity.

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the levels of capacity and potential creation of efficiencies within the community pharmacy sector since 2019 in the context of the community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF).

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the recent announcement by Lloyds Pharmacy that it will close 237 branches on (a) former patients and (b) nearby pharmacies.

Neil O'Brien: The capacity and potential for efficiencies within the community pharmacy sector are considered jointly by the Department, NHS England and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee during negotiations on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF). The CPCF 2019/2024 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to the sector. In September last year we agreed an additional £100 million for the remainder of the five-year deal.The Department and NHS England continue to monitor patient access to pharmaceutical services closely and have been working closely with NHS England and Lloyds Pharmacy to assess the potential impact of the recent Lloyds announcement.

Primary Health Care: Pharmacy

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Pharmacy First service for minor illnesses used in Scotland; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting this model in England.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing Pharmacy First service on General Practices.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a fully funded Pharmacy First service for minor illnesses in England.

Neil O'Brien: Health systems, policies and context differ across the devolved nations. In England, the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2019/2024 five-year deal set out how community pharmacy would be commissioned to deliver more clinical services and become the first port of call for minor illnesses, helping to reduce pressure on other parts of the National Health Service. Through the deal pharmacies have already introduced several new services. For example, NHS111 and general practices can refer patients to a community pharmacist for a minor illness consultation and most pharmacies now also offer blood pressure checks This is on top of the support for self-care for minor illnesses that all community pharmacies offer. In September last year we announced the agreement for the remainder of the five-year deal, which includes a further one-off investment in the sector of £100 million. This agreement continues the expansion of the services offered by community pharmacies by enabling community pharmacists to manage and initiate contraception, provide extra support for patients newly prescribed antidepressants and enabling urgent and emergency care settings to refer patients to a community pharmacist for a minor illness consultation or for an urgent medicine supply. We continue to consider what more community pharmacies could do, making use of their valuable skills for the benefit of patients and the NHS. As part of that, we are looking at what community pharmacies in other parts of the United Kingdom and further afield offer. Much of what is offered in Scotland is already provided by English pharmacies and the impact of any additional arrangements, such as the supply of prescription only medicines, would depend on the scale and scope of those proposals.

Primary Health Care

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a Primary Care Recovery Plan.

Neil O'Brien: The Primary Care Recovery Plan is currently being drafted and will be published in the coming weeks.

Pharmacy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of distance-selling pharmacies on the availability of face-to-face pharmacy advice across England.

Neil O'Brien: No such assessment has been made. Overall, there remains good access to NHS pharmaceutical services in England, with 80 percent of the population living within 20 minutes walking distance from their nearest pharmacy.We continue to closely monitor the market. The Pharmacy Access Scheme supports access to brick-and-mortar pharmacies in areas where there are fewer pharmacies.

Speech and Language Therapy: Children

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Auditory Verbal Therapy for deaf children.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with Auditory Verbal UK on NHS funding for early intervention programmes for deaf children.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of Auditory Verbal Therapy for deaf children on the NHS.

Neil O'Brien: The Department has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) for deaf children or the adequacy of the accessibility of AVT for deaf children on the National Health Service.Commissioning of hearing services takes place at a local level based on the needs of the local population. The Secretary of State has, therefore, no plans to hold discussions with Auditory Verbal UK on NHS funding for early intervention programmes for deaf children.In 2019, NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and health and local authority providers who support children and young people with hearing loss, this can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/what-works-chswg-guide.pdfThe guide provides practical advice to organisations, commissioners and providers on how they can ensure children with hearing loss receive the support they need, so that they can lead successful, fulfilling and independent lives.

Hearing Impairment: Children

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support deaf children.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is taking a number of steps to support deaf children. The Action Plan on Hearing Loss (2015) sets out key objectives on hearing loss including: prevention, early diagnosis, maximising independence, and enabling people, including children to take part in every-day activities. NHS England has produced a series of guides to help deliver the recommendations of the Action Plan which can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/what-works-guides-action-plan-on-hearing-loss/Commissioning of hearing services takes place at a local level based on the needs of the local population. NHS England, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, produced a guide for commissioners and health and local authority providers who support children and young people with hearing loss which can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/what-works-chswg-guide.pdfThe guide provides practical advice to organisations, commissioners and providers on how they can ensure children with hearing loss receive the support they need, so that they can lead successful, fulfilling and independent lives.

Diesel: Health Hazards

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the health impact of air pollution caused by diesel-powered generators for (a) personal and (b) commercial use.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has made no assessment of the health impact of air pollution caused by diesel-powered generators for personal use.Diesel generators meeting the thresholds prescribed in the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2018 will be subject to an environmental permit issued by the appropriate regulator; the Environment Agency for those under Part A1 of the Regulations and local authorities for those falling under Parts A2 & B of the Regulations, being utilised within a commercial setting.UKHSA has a Working Together Agreement with the Environment Agency in relation to Environmental Permitting. When consulted, UKHSA provides advice to the Environment Agency on the potential impacts on human health of emissions arising from existing or proposed regulated facilities.

Hospices

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS commissioning for hospice care is consistent in all parts of the country; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing long-term funding for hospices.

Helen Whately: No specific assessment has been made.As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, palliative care services were specifically added to the list of services an integrated care board must commission. This will ensure a more consistent national approach and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.NHS England have published new statutory guidance on palliative and end of life care to support commissioners with this duty, which includes specific reference to ensuring there is sufficient provision of specialist palliative care services and hospice beds.

Integrated Care Boards: Standards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to compare the effectiveness of the performance of integrated care boards.

Helen Whately: As set out in the NHS Oversight Framework, NHS England, working through its regional teams, formally oversees integrated care boards (ICBs) and allocates all ICBs to one of the four ‘segments’, from segment one (no specific support needs) to segment four (a requirement for mandated intensive support).

Surgery: Liverpool Wavertree

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of operation waiting times in the Liverpool Wavertree constituency as of 6 February 2023.

Will Quince: No specific assessment has been made.

NHS: Industrial Disputes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he made of the effectiveness of the Welsh Government's approach to the NHS pay dispute in 2023.

Will Quince: National Health Service pay is a devolved matter, as a result the Department is not able to comment on the approach taken by the Devolved Governments.No assessment has been made of the Welsh Government’s approach to the NHS pay dispute in 2023.

Intensive Care: Health Professions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2023 to Question 132434 on Intensive Care: Health Professions, what data his Department holds staff vacancies in Intensive Therapy Units.

Will Quince: Data on vacancies in intensive therapy units is not centrally held.NHS England publishes quarterly National Health Service hospital trust vacancy data, but it is not available at a more detailed staff group level or by the setting in which staff work.

NHS: Labour Turnover

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of rises in the cost of motoring on the rate of movement of NHS staff to the acute sector.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made on the rate of movement of National Health Service staff to the acute sector, but NHS England’s retention programme seeks a better understanding of why staff leave.On 1 January 2023, the mileage rate for staff who use their vehicles to make journeys in the performance of their duties increased to 59p per mile, above the HM Revenue and Customs approved mileage rate of 45p per mile, to recognise the increased cost of motoring.

Nurses: Industrial Disputes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on industrial action.

Will Quince: The Secretary of State has met with representatives from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) several times over the last few months.We wrote to representatives of health unions early in January to invite them to meet to discuss the evidence that the Government will be submitting to the Pay Review Bodies for the 2023-24 pay round. RCN representatives were present at meetings on 9 January and 12 January.The Government is focused on the 2023-24 pay review process but recognises that despite over one million National Health Service workers receiving a pay rise of at least £1,400 this financial year, global economic headwinds are putting household budgets under pressure. We will continue to listen to concerns from health unions about this.

Hospitals: Vulnerable Adults

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what impact his Department’s delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services will have on keeping vulnerable people out of hospital.

Will Quince: The delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services was published on 30 January and contains a number of interventions to expand care outside of hospital. This includes improving the use of urgent community response, scaling up falls and frailty services, and expanding virtual wards so that more people can receive high-quality care from their own home.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Afghanistan: Oil

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Chinese National Petroleum Corp agreement to extract oil from the Amu Barya basin in Afghanistan.

Leo Docherty: Any deal between the Taliban and China on trade and investment is a matter for them. China invests in many countries, including Afghanistan.

Cameroon: Press Freedom

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the level of press freedom in Cameroon, in the context of the murder of Martinez Zogo.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On 23 January, the British High Commission in Yaoundé issued a statement condemning the torture and killing of journalist Martinez Zogo. We continue to urge the authorities to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Zogo's death and ensure those responsible are brought to justice. Reporters Sans Frontiers ranks Cameroon 118th out of 180 countries on media freedom, suggesting that there remain challenges. The British High Commissioner continues to raise media freedom, including with the Cameroonian Deputy Foreign Minister on 7 February, and is engaging with journalist associations.

Angola: Nature Conservation

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Angola on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with international counterparts on these issues, however, different to many other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Angola does not use hunting licences as a source of income or as a method of conservation.

Nigeria: Elections

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of advocating for a visa ban for people undermining democracy in elections in Nigeria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The ability to deliver free, fair and safe elections is a significant test for Nigerian democracy. We are committed to supporting Nigeria deliver these elections successfully. The UK Government will respond to any attempts to subvert democratic processes. We are prepared to take action against those who engage in electoral violence and other anti-democratic behaviours. This could include preventing people from obtaining UK visas or using the UK's human rights sanctions regime. We will continue to highlight our willingness to take such action against individuals or groups found to have undermined the democratic process in Nigeria.

Maira Shahbaz

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Pakistan on the case of Maira Shahbaz.

Leo Docherty: Protecting women's rights is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. On 14 October 2022, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised forced conversions with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada. In December 2022, the UK announced sanctions against Mian Abdul Haq, a Pakistani cleric who is responsible for the forced religious conversions and forced marriages of young girls. We are not prepared to discuss the detail of individual cases where to do so could put individuals and their families' lives at risk.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on steps being taken to help ensure that the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill introduced on 17 January 2023 in Pakistan will not be used to target minority Muslims and non-Muslims.

Leo Docherty: Protecting minority communities is a key part of the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, discussed the need to safeguard the rights of religious minorities during his meeting with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, and raised proposed amendments to the blasphemy laws. Lord Ahmad also discussed the importance of promoting respect for all religions during his meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022

Burkina Faso: Mosques

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the attack on a mosque in Mehdi Abad, near the northern town of Dori, in Burkina Faso on 11 January 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: My colleague, the Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has condemned the attack on Ahmadi Muslims in northern Burkina Faso and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief is one of the UK's long-standing priorities. The UK is closely monitoring events in Burkina Faso including the worsening security and humanitarian situation. We are committed to supporting stability and development in Burkina Faso and will continue to provide humanitarian aid to those most in need.

Tanzania: Nature Conservation

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Tanzania on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The British High Commission in Tanzania engages regularly with government and non-government stakeholders to discuss initiatives to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods. It did so most recently in February 2023. Government-resourced wildlife conservation in Tanzania is overwhelmingly financed through the national park fees of non-hunting tourists. We assess that the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill will not have a major impact on the economy and conservation model.

Religious Freedom: Christianity

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of freedom of religion or belief for Christians around the world.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Promotion of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) will continue to be a key human rights priority for the UK in 2023. A range of analyses, including reports from organisations which look at trends, informs our work and approach to freedom of religion or belief. We demonstrated the depth of our commitment to FoRB by hosting an international Ministerial conference in July 2022. We continue to recognise the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside recognising the persecution of others on the basis of their religion or belief.

Nigeria: Elections

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is he taking to help encourage free and fair elections in Nigeria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The 2023 presidential and legislative elections will be a significant test of Nigeria's democracy. We are supporting Nigeria to deliver free, fair and credible elections through our diplomatic engagement, technical advice, programmes and election observation. I [Andrew Mitchell] have discussed the importance of free, fair and safe elections in my recent engagements with Nigerian presidential candidates and the chairperson of the Nigerian electoral commission. The UK Government will continue to raise the importance of all political parties working together to ensure the success of these elections.

Namibia: Nature Conservation

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Namibian counterpart on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on the (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation in that country.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Zambian counterpart on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on the (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation in that country.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Botswana on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Mozambique on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his South African counterpart on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on that country's (a) economy and (b) model of wildlife conservation.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals and plants from poaching and illegal trade. The Hunting Trophies Bill is a further example of the UK's commitment to leading the way in protecting endangered animals. The UK regularly engages with counterparts in Southern Africa on these issues and engaged with Zambia and Botswana specifically regarding controls on the import and export of hunting trophies to and from the UK. More recently, in July 2022 Lord Goldsmith met the Botswanan Minister of Environment and Tourism and discussed the UK's proposal.

Syria: Refugees

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of Syrian refugees who have yet to return to Syria.

David Rutley: The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, provides authoritative assessments on displacement. It estimates there are over 6.6 million Syrian refugees worldwide, of which 5.5 million are hosted in countries near Syria, notably Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.The UK is grateful for the role refugee-hosting countries play. We will continue to provide support to displaced population, including in response to the 6 February earthquake, which has affected Syrians in both Turkey and Syria itself. We urge the Asad regime to engage meaningfully with the UN-facilitated political process in order to achieve conditions suitable for safe refugee returns.

Monserrat: Development Aid

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support economic development in Monserrat.

David Rutley: The UK Government is committed to supporting the economic development of Montserrat as part of our enduring commitment to the Overseas Territories. The FCDO is funding a five-year £30 million capital investment programme which will deliver a package of infrastructure projects, including a subsea fibre cable and a new hospital. The FCDO is also providing £28.3 million to develop a new port which will improve access to the island. The UK also provides approximately 65 per cent of the Government of Montserrat's recurrent budget which supports the delivery of key public services and funding to improve local resilience from a variety of government funding streams.

Syria and Turkey: Earthquakes

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support people in (a) Syria and (b) Turkey following the earthquake in those countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK sent a team of 77 search and rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs to Turkey on 7 February. We deployed a world class UK medical team and field hospital to Turkey, with surgical capabilities and equipment to provide vital emergency treatment. In Syria, the UK-aid-funded White Helmets have mobilised a major search and rescue effort and the UK has committed significant additional support for their operations. A further humanitarian package, including thousands of tents, blankets and hygiene kits, are being dispatched to Turkey and Syria. The Disasters Emergency Committee appeal, now exceeding £60 million, includes £5 million of the UK Aid Match.

Ministry of Justice

Energy: Meters

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2023 to Question 114828 on Energy: Meters and to the Answer of 31 January 2023 to Question 130110 on Energy: Meters, whether his Department has issued guidance to magistrates on energy companies seeking a warrant to install a prepayment meter in the period since the announcement by Ofgem of a market-wide review into prepayment meter installations.

Mike Freer: The statutory responsibility for issuing guidance to the judiciary is held by the Lord Chief Justice, the Senior President of Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner. They do not consult the government on the guidance they issue to the judiciary as they are independent of government.

Television Licences: Non-payment

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the estimated cost to the public purse of pursuing criminal charges against people for non payment of the TV license in the last year for which figures are available.

Mike Freer: The information requested is not held centrally.

Energy: Meters

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what role HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has in allocating court warrants to energy firms to individual magistrates courts; what factors influence its decision making when deciding which court to send cases to; and what checks HMCTS takes to ensure that no requests for warrants are made against vulnerable households.

Mike Freer: Listing is a judicial responsibility and function, and cases are listed by HMCTS under the supervision of the judiciary. Applications for a warrant to authorise entry to premises under section 2 of the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 may be made to a magistrate either in private or sitting in open court. If such an application is uncontested it may be heard over a live link without a public hearing and the applicant and the magistrate may be in different places.  Contested applications are listed in open court at a magistrates' court selected by the energy firm’s customer. It is the responsibility of the energy company, prior to making their application, in accordance with Ofgem’s Gas and Electricity Codes of Practice for Domestic Suppliers, to undertake checks on the vulnerability of the occupiers of the premises in respect of which the application is made. Applicants confirm on oath that such checks have been undertaken.

Domestic Abuse

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department collects data on the number of domestic cases perpetrated by sons against mothers.

Edward Argar: HM Courts and Tribunals Service does not collect or collate any data on the number of domestic abuse cases perpetrated by sons against mothers.At an individual case file level, any relevant evidence adduced in court could include such details, but that would likely be partial or incomplete, and not capable of being reported on nationally.

Probation Service: Sexual Offences

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Divisional Sex Offender Units within the Probation Service on the management and treatment of sex offenders.

Damian Hinds: The Probation Regional Sexual Offending Units deliver accredited programmes for men convicted of sexual offences. These programmes are operated to set standards overseen by an independent panel of experts. Delivery sites are expected to monitor delivery to ensure that programmes are delivered as designed. Additionally, quality of delivery of accredited programmes is overseen centrally by HMPPS Interventions Services using the Interventions Integrity Framework (IIF), which reflects best practice and accreditation standards. Accredited programmes are only one part of the range of activities undertaken by the probation service as part of someone’s overall sentence plan to manage the risk presented by this group. These activities include assessment of risk and development of an effective risk management plan, which may include supervision, monitoring, and work with other agencies under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arra1ngements (MAPPA).

Hate Crime: Sentencing

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of parity in sentencing guidelines between hate crime based on disabilities and hate crime based on race.

Edward Argar: Sentencing guidelines are a matter for the independent Sentencing Council. However, the approach to the sentencing of hate crimes is primarily set out in legislation.This Government recognises that hate crime legislation, having been developed and added to over time, has prompted concerns that it is not sufficiently coherent and is difficult for practitioners and criminal justice agencies to implement. These concerns include parity between disability and other hate crime strands.Recognising these issues, we asked the Law Commission to conduct a review into the coverage and approach of hate crime legislation. This review examined the adequacy and parity of protection offered by the law relating to hate crime and the current range of offences and aggravating factors in sentencing. The Law Commission reported its recommendations in 2021.The Government is considering its proposals carefully and will respond to the recommendations in due course.

Knives: Crime

Anna Firth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of possession of a zombie knife under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 since the commencement of that Act.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions and convictions for various offences under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 and Criminal Justice Act 1988, since 2019 in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2022.Navigate to the ‘Prosecutions & Convictions’ tab and use the HO offence code filter to select the applicable offence:19520 - Summary offences under Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 and Criminal Justice Act 1988However, whether the offences relate to possession of a zombie knife specifically is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.Information on charges is held by the Home Office, however, they do not hold information on the ‘possession of a zombie knife’. The Home Office does collect and publish information on the number of ‘Possession of article with blade or point’ offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, and their investigative outcomes including charges here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests for legal assistance were made by asylum applicants during the first instance procedure in 2022.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests were made for legal assistance by asylum applicants for their initial asylum application in 2022.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests for legal assistance made by asylum applicants during the first instance procedure in 2022 resulted in a grant of legal assistance.

Mike Freer: Information about the total number of requests for this type of legal assistance is not held. Such assistance, where provided by legal aid, is funded under the ‘Legal Help’ scheme. Decisions about eligibility for this form of services are delegated to legal aid providers. As such, applications are not made directly to the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). Consequently, the LAA does not hold data regarding overall volumes of requests for assistance or the number of requests for assistance that are refused.

Energy: Meters

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the HM Courts and Tribunals Service has provided recent guidance to magistrates on the bulk approval of requests for warrants of entry by energy firms.

Mike Freer: The judiciary is independent and not subject to direction by HM Courts and Tribunals Service or the Lord Chancellor. Justices’ Legal Advisers are employed by HMCTS, but their independence is guaranteed by sections 28 and 29 of the Courts Act 2003 which provides that, in the giving of advice and guidance, they are not subject to the direction of the Lord Chancellor or any other person apart from the Lord Chief Justice or his nominee.

Powers of Attorney: Dementia

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to help reduce the cost of obtaining lasting power of attorney for the families of people with dementia.

Mike Freer: The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) administers lasting power of attorney (LPA) registrations. Its operating costs are entirely fee funded. The current fee, £82 for LPA registration, has reduced over time from £150 in 2007 when LPAs were first introduced, due to OPG’s work to realise efficiencies. OPG also operates a fee remission and exemption scheme for those on defined benefits or low income.Reform of the system is now needed which is why the Government is supporting the Powers of Attorney Bill, a Private Members Bill. The Bill seeks to make the process of registering a lasting power of attorney safer, easier and more sustainable while also keeping fees affordable in the longer term.

Fraud: Trials

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many trials for fraud offences were prosecuted in the (a) Crown and (b) Magistrates’ Court in each quarter since the end of September 2017.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants prosecuted for fraud offences at all courts in England and Wales, between July 2017 and June 2022, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2022. All prosecutions are recorded at magistrates’ courts.

Russia: Ukraine

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to reports of Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine, what steps is his Department taking to collect eyewitness evidence from Ukrainians living in the UK to support the prosecution of Russian military personnel for those crimes.

Mike Freer: Russia’s use of indiscriminate force against innocent civilians in its illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine amounts to war crimes. We are committed to accountability for the atrocities perpetuated by Russian forces in Ukraine and are actively engaging with our international partners to ensure that these crimes are investigated. We are dedicated to supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the situation in Ukraine, including through seconding national experts and a financial contribution of £1 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. We will continue our support for the ICC through a Justice Ministers Conference, co-hosted with the Netherlands in March 2023, which will focus on enhancing technical and practical assistance to the Court. In addition, the UK has embedded a dedicated Met Police liaison officer in The Hague to facilitate information sharing from the UK to the ICC. To gather evidence of war crimes, the Metropolitan Police SO15 War Crimes Team has worked with Ukrainian Community Groups in the UK, completing a number of appeals for witnesses through traditional and digital media platforms. In line with this, the SO15 War Crimes reporting portal has Ukrainian and Russian language options, and it also allows for media files to be uploaded.

Ministry of Justice: ICT

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish his Department's guidance on Ministers' use of personal (a) devices, (b) emails or (c) communication apps for official business.

Mike Freer: The Government takes matters of security very seriously. A security briefing pack is provided by the MoJ Security and Information Group to all MoJ Ministers when they are appointed, as per Cabinet Office guidance. This pack covers personal, cyber, technical and information security. In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Government does not comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements.

Treasury

Yevgeny Prigozhin

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the decision to grant sanction waivers to licence Mr Prigozhin to pay legal costs was seen in reviewed by (a) Ministers and (b) specialist advisors in his Department.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury does not comment on individual licensing cases. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues. On the issue of who makes the decision to issue a licence, I refer the Rt Hon Gentleman to the statement I made during my answer to the Urgent Question, which can be found at the following link: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-01-25/debates/54EFDF55-C956-45FC-8500-C47444EAF09F/WagnerGroupSanctionsRegime

Childcare: Tax Allowances

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families were eligible for tax-free childcare in each UK (a) nation and (b) region in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: Families eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) are defined as those who meet the eligibility criteria and use qualifying childcare. HMRC does not hold this information for all families who could be eligible for TFC. An estimate of the number of families eligible for TFC is derived from the Family Resources Survey. This is 1.3 million families across the UK over the past 5 years. Since this is based on survey data, regional estimates are much less reliable and are not routinely produced but the table below was included in the Tax-Free Childcare Post Implementation Review and relates to March 2020 (see figure 4 on page 15): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/28/pdfs/ukpgaod_20140028_en_001.pdf The number of families that are eligible for TFC in each region is an estimate, based on information from the Family Resources Survey:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-201718

Church Commissioners

Churches: Festivals and Special Occasions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support parish churches in holding events for (a) families and (b) other individuals.

Andrew Selous: A vibrant children’s and youth ministry is often a key component of church growth and creates intergenerational support for new parents and caregivers from experienced parents, grandparents and youth workers. Most Church of England parishes provide activities to engage with families and young people. Examples include breakfast, lunch and holiday clubs, youth clubs, messy church and events in partnership with local authorities, other churches and faith communities. Most dioceses have specialist children, youth or families advisers. More information and resources can be found on the Church of England website here: Our work with children and young people | The Church of EnglandThe Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households will soon be publishing a report looking at the role of the family in today’s society. Details of the Commission are here: Families and Households Commission | The Church of England .

Church of England: Antisemitism

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether he has had recent discussions with the Church of England on tackling anti-Semitism in (a) theological training colleges, (b) ordained clergy and (c) Church of England parishes.

Andrew Selous: The key resource that the National Church Institutions commend to all clergy, dioceses and parishes is God’s Unfailing Word: Theological and Practical Perspectives on Christian-Jewish Relations, produced by the Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England in 2019. This addresses the need to combat antisemitism in the Church and affirms the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Teaching and training of ordinands and clergy in Theological Colleges and Dioceses includes much of this material, and there are regular resources and seminars for Diocesan Inter Faith Advisers equipping them in this area.

Church of England

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what meetings he has held in his capacity as Second Church Estates Commissioner with (a) evangelical groups and (b) groups representing other traditions in the Church of England in the last 12 months.

Andrew Selous: In the twelve month period since February 2022 I have met with representatives of the groups listed below. This is in addition to the large number of regular meetings I have held with the National Church Institutions boards, committees and officials, and with individual bishops, Government ministers, officials, and Members of Parliament20221 March: Evangelical Alliance Freedom of Religious Belief Conference31 March: Meeting with Anglican Communion Primates in Parliament5 July: Chaired the annual Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast. More details at: 2022 Programme – Christians in Parliament5 July: Meeting with representative of Anna Chaplaincy5 July: Attended No.10 Downing Street reception on Freedom of Religion & Belief 3 August: Attended the Lambeth Day of The Lambeth Conference7 November: Meeting with representatives of the CofE Evangelical Council19 December: Meeting with Bishop Graham Tomlin, Centre for Cultural Witness 202318 January: Attended the launch of the Open Doors Watch List 30 January: Attended meeting between Archbishop of Canterbury and MPs/Peers supportive of same-sex marriage in the Church of England 8 February: Attended meeting of the Church of England General Synod

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Boxing: Safety

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to take steps to improve the safety of white collar boxing events.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the proposal from the national governing bodies for boxing that all unlicensed white collar boxing events should (a) be fully affiliated and (b) comply with the bodies' minimum (i) criteria, (ii) standards and (iii) requirements for such events.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to require that unlicensed white collar boxing events comply with the minimum (a) criteria, (b) standards and (c) requirements set by the national governing bodies for boxing.

Stuart Andrew: The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure that robust competition standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.

Manchester City FC: Finance

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she had made of the implications for her Department's policies on football governance of Manchester City FC being charged by the Premier League of being in breach of multiple financial rules.

Stuart Andrew: The Government notes the Premier League’s recent action against Manchester City, but it does not affect the reforms that are needed in football.We made clear in our response to the Fan Led Review that we are committed to introducing an independent regulator that will improve corporate governance, and provide greater financial oversight across the leagues. The football governance white paper will be published shortly.

Boxing: Finance

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support is available to community boxing clubs in England.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of grassroots boxing clubs on local communities.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to undertake qualitative research on the potential impact of community boxing clubs on (a) local communities and (b) wider society.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to support grass roots boxing clubs with increases in their running costs over the next 12 months.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to make available any additional support to grass roots boxing clubs in response to increases in energy costs.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the financial viability of grass roots boxing clubs.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of grass roots boxing clubs on the (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of participants in the sport.

Stuart Andrew: Supporting grassroots sport is a key government priority. We recognise the positive impact participating in sport can have on individuals’ wellbeing and the benefits sport clubs have on local communities.The government believes that sport has the potential to transform lives and that participating in sports such as boxing can teach valuable life lessons, and we believe everyone should have access to these opportunities.The majority of funding to grassroots sports projects is delivered through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England. Work is currently underway with Sport England to better evidence the impact of the projects they fund.Since 2019, Sport England has invested more than £11 million into projects and schemes in boxing, including £55,000 of support to boxing clubs in the Bradford East constituency. Clubs can contact Sport England directly to understand what funding pots they are eligible for at https://www.sportengland.org/contact-us.We appreciate the impact rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes including sport clubs such as boxing gyms. That is why we announced the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) in September last year. The EBRS was always time-limited, and has now been replaced with the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). Under the EBDS, boxing clubs will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment: Government Assistance

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many district level progression leads have been recruited.

Guy Opperman: The recruitment of District Progression Leads is being completed in line with the roll out of the In Work Progression offer across the country. So far, 10 districts have gone live with the In Work Progression Voluntary offer and have a District Progression Lead in place and the remaining 27 districts will go live and recruit Progression Leads by the end of March 2023.

Jobcentres: Telephone Services

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of calls from benefit claimants to jobcentres were disconnected before being answered in the last 12 months.

Mims Davies: The Department operates a virtual telephony network, as such telephony data to Jobcentres is not available.

Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is that benefit claimants are on hold when contacting the Department to discuss their claim.

Mims Davies: The table below presents the Departments Management Information for the period February 2022 to January 2023, detailing the average speed to answer (ASA) an inbound call, and the total number of calls answered by month. Month YearASA (hrs/mins/Seconds)Calls AnsweredFEB 220:07:353,200,789MAR 220:07:433,538,351APR 220:08:243,023,486MAY 220:08:563,234,247JUN 220:08:133,040,241JUL 220:07:422,856,595AUG 220:08:532,968,272SEP 220:10:292,959,967OCT 220:08:572,991,097NOV 220:06:543,118,883DEC 220:07:532,518,952JAN 230:07:513,272,460Please note - this information is derived from the Department’s management information designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

Department for Work and Pensions: Flexible Working

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2022 to Question 110674 on Department for Work and Pensions: Flexible Working, if he will publish all internal guidance documentation on flexible working in his Department.

Mims Davies: DWP’s flexible working policies are published on its internal Intranet for its employees, managers, and trade union representatives to use. There are currently no plans to publish them externally.

Department for Work and Pensions: Buildings

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Programme Business Case for the Workplace Transformation Programme, published in March 2022, included the cost of the temporary job centre estate when assessing the value for money of that programme.

Mims Davies: The Department’s Workplace Transformation programme business case published in March 2022, did not include the cost of the temporary Jobcentre estate. The costs associated with the temporary Jobcentre estate were considered under its own additional Face to Face Capacity Programme. The funding secured from HMT was time limited for the current Spending Review period only.

Jobcentres

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefits claimants see a work coach each week.

Guy Opperman: The information not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Eggs: Imports

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of risk of avian flu from the importation of game bird eggs.

Mark Spencer: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out routine surveillance of disease risks around the world to help the Government anticipate future threats to animal health. APHA continues to closely monitor the global situation of avian influenza as part of this work. Gamebird hatching egg imports to Great Britain (GB) must come from a disease-free territory within an approved country and be accompanied by appropriate animal health certification. Hatching egg imports from non-EU countries must also enter GB through a Border Control Post, where controls are carried out to ensure that import conditions mitigating the risk of avian influenza have been met, while hatching egg imports from the EU may be subject to checks at destination based on an assessment of the biosecurity and public health risks.

Poultry Meat: Supply Chains

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help improve resilience of the poultry meat industry’s supply chain.

Mark Spencer: The British poultry sector is highly resilient and plays a significant role in the production of high-quality poultry meat. It operates in an open market and the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain. The Government continues to work closely with the poultry industry to tackle the recent unprecedented outbreak on Avian Influenza (AI). This includes work on improving on-farm biosecurity and a consideration of vaccination. On 28 October 2022 we announced changes to the AI compensation scheme, allowing compensation to be paid to farmers from the outset of planned AI culling rather than at the end, and a relaxation to the enforcement of marketing rules allowing the sale of defrosted turkeys, geese and ducks between 28 November and 31 December 2022. In 2023 and 2024 the poultry sector will continue to be able to access 2,000 seasonal worker visas to meet the pre-Christmas surge in demand for poultry workers.

Common Land

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of common land that is not used for (a) commoners' rights and (b) public access.

Trudy Harrison: An estimation of common land that is not used for commoners’ rights is not available. Approximately 370,000 hectares of land has been mapped as Registered Common Land, in accordance with Section 4 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the majority of which is publicly accessible. Approximately 3,700 hectares (1%) is considered to be excepted land for defence or security reasons. Data on other common land including any local byelaws or regulations that may restrict public access is not readily available.

Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill with her Department’s international development strategy.

Trudy Harrison: The Government has pledged to ban the imports of hunting trophies from thousands of species. We are committed to a ban on imports of hunting trophies that is among the strongest in the world and leads the way in protecting endangered animals. We are supporting the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill led by the hon. Member for Crawley, that will deliver this. This is consistent with our commitment to protect nature that we set out in the strategy for international development published in May 2022.

Environment Protection

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to restore nature and improve environmental quality as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

Trudy Harrison: The Government is committed to leaving the environment in a better state than we found it and halting and reversing nature’s decline. Five years ago, the 25 Year Environment Plan set out our vision for a quarter-of-a-century of action to help the natural world regain and retain good health.  Since then, we have laid the foundations for the future. We passed the Environment Act which sets ambitious legally-binding, long-term targets to restore nature. Now, we are building on the vision with our Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, which details a delivery plan for each of our ten goals, matched with stretching interim targets to measure progress. This includes our apex goal of improving nature and apex target of halting species decline by 2030. Taking action across our environmental goals will help us restore nature, tackle environmental pollution, and increase the prosperity of our country.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Environmental Land Management scheme on targets set under the Environment Act 2021; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: The Environmental Improvement Plan, published 31st January 2023, sets out the actions we will take to meet our targets under the Environment Act 2021. This includes relevant work across the whole of Government, such as the Environmental Land Management schemes.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Vehicles

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) fossil fuel-, (b) electric- and (c) hybrid-powered road-legal vehicles their Department purchased in the last 24 months.

Mark Spencer: a) Fossil fuel - 11b) Electric - 101c) Hybrid-Powered – 83 These figures relate to any purchase vehicle acquired by the Environment Agency, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Natural England from 1 January 2021 to date. Our purchasing policy for fleet assets is built upon our strategic aim, aligned to our corporate ambition, to be a net carbon zero organisation by 2030. The policy will ensure that our owned fleet of vehicles are zero emission by 31 December 2027, in line with Government targets.

Environment Protection: Private Sector

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the private sector to (a) invest in and (b) develop new technologies to help meet her environmental targets.

Mark Spencer: We have set out our delivery plans for each of the environmental targets in our Environmental Improvement Plan which was published on 31 January 2023. The delivery of the targets will require a shared endeavour across the whole of Government, business and the individual decisions we all make. We will continue working with the private and third sector to ensure we are tapping into their expertise. We will support the development of and investment in new technologies through a variety of routes including the forthcoming update to the Green Finance Strategy, the introduction of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill and Government’s own R&D funding such as the £270m Farming Innovation Programme and £75m net zero pathway funding. We will also work to enable the appropriate regulatory environment to enable investment in innovation, such as through the Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat to support water company innovation, and wider regulatory reform outside the European Union. Defra continues to work alongside the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to build Earth Observation Capacity in order to monitor the environment, to meet targets.

Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has contacted the International Union for Conservation of Nature to request its view on the potential impact of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill on wildlife numbers in Africa.

Trudy Harrison: Our approach on hunting trophies has been informed by our consultation and call for evidence on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies which ran between 2 November 2019 and 25 February 2020. As part of this exercise, we sought and received views and evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including the International Union of the Conservation of Nature Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. The summary of responses and the Government response to the consultation were published in December 2021 and are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hunting-trophies-call-for-evidence.

Countryside: Codes of Practice

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to raise public awareness of the Countryside Code.

Trudy Harrison: The Countryside Code was refreshed and relaunched in 2021 and a long term campaign to promote the messages of the code began. Over the last two years Natural England has worked with a variety of stakeholders and partners to promote the Code. A major focus of the campaign has been engaging with new audiences through the use of social media and other innovative communication techniques. Over the last year we have used social media influencers to engage with new audiences and built dedicated webpages (www.countrysidecode.org) which has allowed us to share campaign assets with the public. For 2023/24 we will continue to build on our partnership work including taking the Countryside Code to face to face events and we are in the process of setting up an exciting project that will provide branding and resources for our younger audience.

Environment Protection: Standards

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she had discussions with (a) Natural England, (b) the Environment Agency and (c) the Office for Environmental Protection on the preparation of the Significant Improvement Test published on 31 January 2023; if she will place a copy of that advice in the House of Commons Library; and if she will make a statement.

Trudy Harrison: The Secretary of State’s conclusion that the Significant Improvement Test has been met adhered to the legislative requirements set out in the Environment Act 2021, and was underpinned by an extensive evidence base.

Home Office

Asylum

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims on which a final decision has not been made were lodged before 1 January 2010.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on final outcomes on asylum applications can be found in table Asy_D04 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data are accurate as of June 2022. An update to this table will be published in August 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Asylum: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February to Question 132334 on Asylum: Children, if he will make an assessment of the feasibility of collecting data on the number of (a) missing children and (b) days each child has been missing in a reportable format for any future incidents of unaccompanied asylum seeking children going missing.

Robert Jenrick: Any child going missing is extremely serious, and we closely work with the police and local authorities to seek to urgently locate them and ensure they are safe. We are clear that we must end the use of hotels as soon as possible. The National Transfer scheme (NTS) has seen 3,148 children transferred to local authorities with children’s services between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2022. This compares to 739 children transferred in the same time period in the previous year. We are providing local authorities with children’s services with £15,000 for every eligible young person they take into their care from a dedicated UASC hotel, or the Reception and Safe Care Service in Kent, by the end of February 2023. We have robust safeguarding, welfare and security procedures in place to ensure UASC in hotels are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September to Question 45641, tabled on 2 September 2022, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a procedure for a member of the public to scrutinise a police internal legal team decision on a complaint which impacts them.

Chris Philp: There is already a procedure for a complainant under the police complaints process to seek an independent review of the way in which their complaint was handled by the police force’s professional standards department or if they are unhappy about the outcome. The review must be requested within 28 days from the time that the complainant received the letter from the police force about the outcome of the complaint. The independent review body is either the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) or the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

UK Visas and Immigration: Telephone Services

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the telephone service on the UK Visas and Immigration general enquiry line.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK Visas and Immigration general enquiry line.

Robert Jenrick: Teleperformance are our commercial provider who deliver contact centre services on behalf of UKVI.UKVI closely monitor the volumes of calls and emails received to the general enquiry lines and are able to increase the number of call agents deployed to support any increase in demand. UKVI works closely with the service provider to review performance and ensures that service standards are maintained.Quality and complaint standards are regularly monitored to ensure that information given to customers is accurate, professional, consistent and of the highest quality.To date, the helpline services receive less than 0.1% of complaints against overall contact.

Police: Fraud

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding available to the police to tackle fraud.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the economy of fraud in 2022.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to support the police to tackle fraud.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made on the impact of fraud on victims of this crime.

Tom Tugendhat: We recognise the devastating emotional and financial harms that victims of fraud can suffer. The 2020 ONS released the Nature of crime: fraud and computer misuse, indicated that 20% of respondents felt loss of confidence or felt vulnerable.Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud, reduce the impact of fraud on victims, and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters and we will publish a fraud strategy in due course, setting out how we will do this.

Asylum: Children

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the finding in the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, entitled An inspection of the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum seeking children March to May 2022, published on 19 October 2022, on staff working in hotels housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children without having been DBS checked.

Robert Jenrick: All individuals working directly with the young people accommodated at the hotels have Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks, and all those working or operating on the hotel sites have DBS clearance.

Visas: Applications

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of super priority visa applications were processed within five working days in 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time was to process a super priority visa in 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total amount spent by her Department in refunding super priority visa applicants was in 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes migration transparency data on the gov.uk website. The latest published data was released on 24 November 2022 and the report covers the period up until end of September 2022.Historically, we have included performance against customer service standards within the published data up until Quarter 3 of 2021, however due to a technical issue we have been unable to release the 2022 figures. It is our intention to reintroduce these figures as part of future migration transparency data releases now that the technical issue has been resolved.We are unable to provide data on how much the Home Office has refunded to super priority visa applicants in 2022. The information is held over multiple computer systems and various immigration routes, which would require a manual trawl to obtain and collate into a report, thereby exceeding time/cost limits.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Regional Planning and Development: Palantir

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has considered Palantir for any contracts involving a data-driven approach to levelling up.

Dehenna Davison: As a regulated contracting Authority, all contracting decisions are made in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or other relevant regulations where applicable. Contracting opportunities are advertised for competition or competed through previously advertised routes, including Framework agreements unless award without competition is permissible under those Regulations.

Private Rented Housing

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the white paper entitled A fairer private rented sector, published on 16 June 2022, what recent progress his Department has made on establishing the property portal.

Dehenna Davison: We are conducting ongoing policy and digital development which has included user research with potential users of the portal, such as private landlords, property agents, local authorities and private renters. We will continue to conduct testing of potential solutions for the property portal to make sure the system works for different users. Announcements will be made in the usual way.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the £500 support payment for Homes for Ukraine hosts will be provided to people in Northern Ireland.

Dehenna Davison: In recognition of their ongoing support amidst the rising cost-of-living, all UK sponsors are eligible for a current optional 'thank you payment' of £350 per month, whilst the Homes for Ukraine guest remains in their accommodation, for up to 12 months. Sponsors will receive an increased 'thank you' payment of £500 a month for guests who have been in the country for over a year 'Thank you' payments will also be extended from 12 months to two years, so that guests who may not yet be ready to move into independent accommodation can stay in sponsorship for longer where sponsors are willing to extend arrangements.

Electoral Register: Disability

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the white paper entitled Levelling Up the United Kingdom, published on 2 February 2022, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to include policies on increasing voter registration among disabledcitizens in the Disability Action Plan.

Rachel Maclean: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is taking steps to support the participation of disabled people in the electoral process.This includes making registering to vote as easy and accessible as possible. The Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service also complies with accessibility standards set by GDS.It is the responsibility of individual Electoral Registration Officers and the Electoral Commission to raise awareness of and ensure registration of all eligible people. Recognising those responsibilities, DLUHC works closely with organisations representing disabled people and the electoral sector and helps to facilitate conversations and sharing best practice between local authorities and such bodies.

Housing: Energy

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the number and proportion of homes that have an energy efficiency rating of C or above.

Rachel Maclean: This information is readily available online at the following link here.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will contact all households to inform them of the need for voter ID ahead of the 2023 local elections.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 140116 on 9 February 2023.

Local Government Association

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the letter to him from the Local Government Association of 1 February, what plans he has to (a) adopt a place-based approach and (b) return to multi-year settlements.

Rachel Maclean: The mission we have set out in the White Paper is that by 2030, everywhere in England that wants one will have a devolution deal with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution with a simplified long-term funding settlement.Our policy statement released in December, provided multi-year certainty to local authorities into 2024/25. This statement supports councils’ budget setting processes, allowing local authorities to plan over the rest of the Spending Review.

Care Homes: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's consultation document Sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings published on 23 December 2022, what evidence supports proposals to remove the national BS476 classification for fire door resistance from Approved Document B; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had discussions with the timber fire door manufacturing sector on his Department's proposals to remove the national classification BS476 for fire door resistance from Approved Document B; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what additional support his Department plans to make available to timber fire door manufacturers to ensure a smooth transition from the national fire door testing standard BS476 to the proposed new standard EN1634-1; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the (a) number of timber fire doors and (b) size of the timber fire door manufacturing sector; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an estimate of the testing site capacity required to carry-out fire door tests for the new EN1634-1 classification within the proposed 12-month transition period; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact on the (a) productivity of and (b) costs to timber fire door manufacturers of the proposed 12-month transition period for moving from the current national fire door testing standard BS476 to the proposed new standard EN1634-1; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the benefits to the timber fire door manufacturing sector of moving from the current national fire door testing standard BS476 to the proposed new standard EN1634-1; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Social Rented Housing: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many social rent council homes have been completed in the Warwick & Leamington constituency in each year since 2010.

Rachel Maclean: We do not collect data by parliamentary constituency on new supply of affordable housing, including on social rent. These data are collected by local authority area only and figures are published on gov.uk in Live Table 1006C.

Levelling Up Fund

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the application date for Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund.

Dehenna Davison: As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 19th January 2023, I am pleased to say there will be a third round of the Fund and we will outline more information on this in due course.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many bids have been submitted to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund economic inactivity competition in Northern Ireland; and what the value of those bids is.

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to announce the results of UK Shared Prosperity Fund Economic Inactivity Competition in Northern Ireland.

Dehenna Davison: The department has received a strong and positive response to the Economic Inactivity competition. I recognise the need for this important funding to be in place promptly as the European Social Fund support draws to a close in Northern Ireland. My officials have already commenced the assessment work for applications received. While ensuring that the assessment process is robust, we will complete this work at pace so that applicants are notified of the outcome as soon as we are able.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Contracts

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what was the total (a) value and (b) number of grants and funding awarded via competitive bidding processes by his Department in each of the last four years; and how many competitive bidding applications have been received by the Department in each of the last four years.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon. Member to information provided to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee in recent correspondence .

Freeports

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what criteria his Department plans to use to measure the success of freeports.

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created at each proposed freeport.

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the potential impact on GDP of each of the Government's proposed new freeports.

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of (a) smuggling, (b) crime and (c) tax evasion at each of the Government's proposed freeports.

Dehenna Davison: The Freeports Programme monitoring and evaluation strategy sets out how the effectiveness and impact of the Freeport programme will be measured.A breakdown of the amount of jobs that English Freeports estimate they will contribute to can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report . In addition, we recently announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland, which estimate they will create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs. These forecasts will be reviewed through a baselining exercise in early 2024 and performance against them tracked and reported on through the Government's ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the programme.With the majority of English Freeports now fully up-and-running, we are starting to see them attract new investment to their regions. More information about how Freeports deliver for the UK economy can be found in the UK Freeports programme annual report.Freeport’s special customs status - which builds on facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. CSOs are required to obtain AEO(S) or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security, and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. Freeports uphold the UK's high standards on security and preventing illicit activity.

Urban Areas

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government is taking to revitalise high streets.

Dehenna Davison: This Government is committed to supporting the businesses and communities that make our high streets and town centres successful. The Government has provided a comprehensive package of around £400 billion of direct support, including business grants, coronavirus loan schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and income tax payment deferral. This is alongside our steps to introduce an arbitration scheme to help resolve pandemic related rent debt through the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022. Our package builds on long-term investment in our high streets and small businesses including through the £3.6bn Towns Fund, the Future High Streets Fund, and the 4.8bn Levelling Up Fund. In addition to this, the High Streets Task Force is continuing to provide essential support in placemaking and planning, and so far has supported 115 local leaders.The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is going further and builds on long-term investment in our high streets and small businesses. For example, this includes High Street Rental Auctions, a new permissive power for local authorities to require landlords to rent out vacant commercial properties to prospective tenants, such as local businesses or community groups.

Capital Investment: Ellesmere Port

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the status is of the Ellesmere Port investment zone.

Dehenna Davison: As confirmed by the Chancellor at the Autumn Statement last year, the Investment Zones programme is being refocused on catalysing a limited number of high-potential growth clusters, in order to boost productivity, growth and job creation in areas that economically underperform. Further details on the programme will be announced in due course.

National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre: Costs

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the cost of the  National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre; what allowance this makes for (a) contingencies and (b) optimism bias; and what the last such estimate of (i) cost, (ii) contingencies and (ii) optimism bias was.

Dehenna Davison: The forecast cost, produced in line with Green Book guidance, was published in the NAO report of 5 July 2022. Costs are currently being reviewed in light of the delay due to the High Court judgement.

Social Rented Housing: Mould

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps he has taken to help local authorities ensure social housing residents do have to live with mould.

Dehenna Davison: The Secretary of State has announced there is to be a review of damp and mould guidance with consolidated guidance for all of housing to follow. In addition, the Secretary of State wrote to all  social housing providers making it clear all homes must meet the Decent Homes Standard (DHS), and with regard to damp and mould, landlords should go further than the letter of the DHS. The Regulator of Social Housing wrote to landlords to seek information on their approach to damp and mould and recently published their initial findings.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Horizon Europe

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to take steps to work with the EU and the Horizon programme on research and innovation projects; and if she will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Government has been tirelessly pushing the EU to implement the UK’s association to Horizon Europe. The EU has continued to delay UK association to the detriment of researchers and businesses in both the UK and EU. During these delays the Government introduced the Horizon Europe guarantee, which was recently extended to cover all Horizon calls that close on or before 31 March 2023, enabling UK researchers to participate in international R&I projects. If the EU’s delay continues, the Government is ready with a set of alternative programs to deploy funds set aside for Horizon fund to honour the R+D ringfence commitment made by the Chancellor at CSR21 to strengthen UK International R+D.

Department for Business and Trade

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Contracts

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what was the total (a) value and (b) number of grants and funding awarded via competitive bidding processes by his Department in each of the last four years; and how many competitive bidding applications have been received by her Department in each of the last four years.

Kevin Hollinrake: This information is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Advertising: Universal Service Obligation

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in the Universal Service Obligation to five days on UK advertising mail and print magazine advertising.

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in the Post Office's Universal Service Obligation to five days on letters sent by hospitals and courts.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government has no current plans to change the statutory minimum requirements of the universal postal service, set out in the Postal Services Act 2011, which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to every UK address, six days a week at standard price.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Electricity: Aberconwy

Robin Millar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in electricity standing charges on (a) charities and (b) businesses in Aberconwy constituency; and whether he is taking steps to help reduce electricity standing charges.

Graham Stuart: The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers. However, Ofgem has launched a wider review into the non-domestic market. Ofgem has recently issued a Request-for-Information (RFI) to gather evidence on suppliers' deemed rates charges, ensuring they follow rules so as not to charge unduly onerous rates. A new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April 2023 until March 2024, and will provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers. This scheme will support non-domestic customers while also limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets.

Verra: Carbon Emissions

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the REDD+ Early Movers Programme uses the company Verra to verify carbon emissions reductions from avoided deforestation.

Graham Stuart: The REDD Early Movers Programme does not use the company Verra to verify carbon emission reductions.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to launch the Alternative Funding scheme for people without a domestic electricity meter.

Graham Stuart: The application portal, (and accompanying contact centre helpline for those without online access), for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) will open for all eligible households without a relationship to a domestic electricity supplier in England, Scotland, and Wales by 27 February. The EBSS AF for Northern Ireland is also due to launch in February, with details to be released in due course.

Urban Areas: carbon Emissions

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help mitigate the carbon footprint of urban areas.

Graham Stuart: The Net Zero Strategy sets out how the Government is enabling local areas to deliver net zero in a way that recognises the differing needs of urban, rural and coastal areas.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the tariffs that energy suppliers are required to offer homeowners who generate electricity from their property by use of solar panels.

Graham Stuart: The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a cost-reflective and market led mechanism and it is for suppliers to determine the value of the exported electricity and to take account of the administrative costs associated when setting their tariffs. Ofgem reports annually on the range, nature and uptake of tariffs offered by suppliers in response to their SEG obligations. The Government will monitor whether the market is delivering an effective range of options for small exporters. To date, the market has responded positively, with a range of SEG tariffs.

Energy: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 121001 on Energy: Disability, if he will work with disability organisations on developing the Government’s new approach to consumer protection.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 121001 on Energy: Disability, whether the Government’s new approach to consumer protection will specifically consider the costs faced by disabled people who use medical equipment in the home.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 121001 on Energy: Disability, if he will assess the need for specific support for disabled people using medical equipment in the home before April 2024.

Graham Stuart: The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024, including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider retail market reforms. The Government is assessing evidence and options and proactively discussing this with stakeholders. As part of this work, the Government is working with disability organisations, considering the costs for disabled people with medical equipment and assessing the need for specific support for disabled people using medical equipment in the home.

Energy Company Obligation: Park Homes

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of installers who are registered to undertake ECO4 measures accept applications for support from park home households.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme is a requirement placed on larger energy suppliers, and is fully focussed on supporting low income and vulnerable households in receiving energy efficiency measures. Under ECO, suppliers/installers decide where to install measures based on property suitability and the cost-effectiveness of installing there. Government estimates that under ECO4, around 800,000 measures may be installed in around 450,000 households. While park home households are within scope for ECO4, the Government does not become involved with the private contractual decisions of suppliers and installers, nor does it collect data on the number of accepted park home applications by these parties.

Housing: Energy and Heating

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help support homes without central heating with the cost of alternative heat and energy sources.

Graham Stuart: The Alternative Fuel Payment scheme in Great Britain will deliver £200 to households who use alternative fuels such as biomass, liquefied petroleum gas or heating oil, helping around 2 million off-grid households to meet their energy costs this winter. The vast majority of eligible households will receive a credit automatically via their electricity supplier from 6 February. Households on a single fuel tariff, such as electricity-only, will continue to be protected from increases in energy costs by the Energy Price Guarantee, which limits the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy used.

Energy: Meters

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the average cost of energy for people (a) using prepayment meters and (b) paying by direct debit in the period between December 2022 and February 2023.

Graham Stuart: Assuming a typical dual fuel consumption based on Ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption Values, and that a typical person pays the average rate for each payment type, the average energy bill in Q1 2023 for customers paying by Direct Debit is £676 and by prepayment meter £735. These take into account the discounts provided by Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bill Support Scheme and reflect normal seasonal patterns of higher demand in winter.

Energy: Meters

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is planning to taking to steps to help ensure that those households switching from a prepayment meter to a credit meter do not incur (a) an associated financial charge or (b) a period without energy.

Graham Stuart: Consumers will not have to pay to have an old-style credit meter or a smart meter installed. Before a supplier installs an old-style credit meter or turns off a customer’s smart meter's prepayment setting, the customer might have to have a credit check or pay a deposit. A supplier usually will not replace a customer’s meter or change the smart meter setting if the customer is in debt to them.

Electric Vehicles: Copper

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January to Question 122084 on Electric Vehicles: Copper, what estimate he has made of how many tonnes of copper will be required for (a) additional cabling, (b) vehicles, (c) turbines and (d) electrical generation components by 2040.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not hold information on the amount of copper required by 2040, however it is working closely with industry to ensure robust supply chains to meet its net zero commitments. In 2022, the Department commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake the UK’s first criticality assessment. 18 minerals – assessed as having the highest supply risk and highest economic importance – were defined as “critical”. Many other minerals, such as copper, have important uses but have not been classed as critical in this context.

Alternative Fuel Payments: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on the delivery of the Alternative Fuel Payment.

Graham Stuart: Officials have spoken to counterparts in the Welsh Government and will continue to do so. The Government values the insight the Welsh Government can bring, particularly as the Alternative Fuel Payment benefits those in rural areas, with households who use alternative fuels such as biomass, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or heating oil.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Contracts

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether contacts between Palantir and (a) Cambridge Analytica and (b) foreign national security organisations will be considered in future procurement opportunities for that company in relation to contracts that require handling of sensitive data and information.

Alex Burghart: UK public procurement is regulated by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project.Public sector procurers are required by law to assess the most economically advantageous tender from the perspective of the contracting authority, using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification for all contracts.Security implications are considered in detail on a case-by-case basis by commercial teams, and security clauses and schedules are included in government contracts, where necessary.Public bodies must also comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 when letting contracts involving personal data, including adequacy for the purposes of off-shoring, where relevant.

Overseas Trade: Saudi Arabia

Scott Benton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the total value to the British economy of (a) trade with and (b) tourism from Saudi Arabia.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon gentlemen’s Parliamentary Question of 6 February is attached. UKSA Response to PQ140405 (pdf, 147.2KB)

Dominic Raab

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister was first made aware of the allegations of bullying made against the Rt hon. Member for Esher and Walton.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions on 1 February 2023, Official Report, Columns 335-336.

Government Departments: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to improve the energy efficiency of Government buildings.

Jeremy Quin: As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, the Government aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037. To support this, £2.5 billion is being invested through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme over the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25 to provide grants for public sector bodies in England to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures.The Office for Government Property has published the Net Zero Estate Playbook providing guidance to support government property organisations to decarbonise their estate. This includes recommendations of how to reduce operational energy use, including through fabric improvements.The Government Property Function on 15 November published its Government Property Strategy, which commits to delivering a range of interventions designed to create a smaller, better, and greener public estate. The greener element is focused on supporting delivery of the Greening Government Commitments, which include carbon emissions reduction targets for all government departments.

Department for Education

Children: Social Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's report Stable Homes, Built on Love: Implementation Strategy and Consultation published February 2023, what steps her Department plans to take to deliver Family Help services in the 12 identified Pathfinder areas.

Claire Coutinho: The government has pledged £45 million to deliver the Families First for Children Pathfinders in up to 12 local areas over the next two years. The department will test the following elements of Family Help services within the identified Pathfinder areas:Building a multi-disciplinary workforce with the time and skills to help families, understand how a broad range of professions best work together as a team to support a child and their wider family.Delivering a single intensive and integrated service. We will work with local authorities and their partners to understand the best approach to providing more consistent and intensive support for vulnerable families and children. We will understand the best way to set out eligibility for Family Help, so that there is consistent national understanding of who should receive this support, but local areas can meet families’ needs flexibly.Delivering Family Help services based on the needs of communities. As part of this we want to ensure that the voices of families and children are heard. We will understand how to maximise the use of population needs assessments, based on data and local knowledge, when designing and evaluating services.Creating a more welcoming and supporting environment for vulnerable families and children. We want to deliver services based on the specific needs of parent and children and introduce a more effective front door to services. We will evaluate the risks and benefits of removing timescales for initial assessments as recommended by the Care Review.The department will provide local areas with support and funding to deliver the reforms. We will co-design these new services by working with children and families, the local authority, schools, police, health and other key partners within the area, including the third sector. All pathfinder areas will test reforms across Family Help, child protection and kinship care.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of statutory mental health assessments on children undertaking those assessments in (a) primary and (b) secondary education.

Claire Coutinho: There are no statutory mental health assessments in primary or secondary schools. It is up to schools to decide what assessments to use with their pupils in order to inform their whole-school mental health provision, as well as the support that might be needed by individual pupils, taking into account the effect of the assessment on pupils.

Department for Education: Contracts

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the total (a) value and (b) number of grants and funding awarded via competitive bidding processes by her Department in each of the last four years; and how many competitive bidding applications have been received by her Department in each of the last four years.

Nick Gibb: The Department uses a competitive application process for general grants by default, wherever possible and appropriate. This is to encourage innovation, reduce reliance on incumbent organisations, drive value for money, and maximise outcomes. Competition for grant funding can be via a challenge fund, where organisations compete for a portion of the available funding, in line with application guidance, or via a more traditional competition where organisations compete against each other through the submission of a delivery proposal for a single award of funding. The value and volume of competed general grant schemes for the Department is available for the 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 financial years at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-grants-data-and-statistics. Data relating to the 2021/22 financial year will be published in March 2023.

Children: Social Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to provide seed funding to local authorities towards the Stable Homes, Built on Love initiative.

Claire Coutinho: ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ sets out six pillars of reform for Children’s Social Care. The department has announced £200 million of additional investment over the next two years to support implementation of the reforms. This includes funding to local authorities to support laying the groundwork for longer term reforms through two Pathfinders (the Families First for Children Pathfinder, and the other trialling Regional Care Cooperatives). They will allow us to test complex reforms in order to enable improved family support, more decisive child protection, empowerment of wider family networks, and improved planning, delivering and commissioning of homes for children to live in. The Pathfinders will help us answer key delivery questions, develop our understanding of the benefits and constraints of new models, and work collaboratively with local areas and partners to operationalise them.Throughout the reforms we will engage local authorities to ensure policy reforms can be developed and implemented collaboratively.

Children: Social Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Guide for children and young people: Stable Homes, Built on Love published 2 February 2023, what steps she is taking to ensure that all funding for Risk Outside the Home Pathway pilots is spent on service delivery.

Claire Coutinho: Experiencing extra-familial harm and exploitation can have a devastating impact on children, their families and the wider community.This financial year, the department is providing up to £60,000 each to four local authorities to further test a Risk Outside the Home Pathway, as part of Durham University’s Planning for Safety research project. The Pathway has been developed by Wiltshire Council and is tailored to the needs of children facing risk of significant harm from outside the home.Grant agreements are in place with each of the four local authorities and set out a clear expectation that funding provided by the department should contribute towards the set up and implementation of the Risk Outside The Home Pathway in their area.

Care Leavers: Government Assistance

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support young care leavers who are more vulnerable to drug-use, mental illness and being forced into sex work; and if she will meet with the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden to discuss a constituent's personal case.

Claire Coutinho: We recognise the importance of securing appropriate support for care leavers. All care leavers are allocated a Personal Advisor to support them to make a successful transition from care to independent living. This includes helping them to access services and support from wider agencies such as health and housing, and to provide practical and emotional support.However, we know that better support is needed. The department’s response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, sets out six key missions to improve the lives of children in care and care leavers, including a commitment to reduce the disparities in long-term mental and physical health outcomes and improve wellbeing for care-experienced people.The department is also providing over £230 million this spending review to support young people leaving care, including increasing the leaving care allowance from £2,000 to £3,000 and tripling the bursary that care leaver apprentices receive.I am content to meet with the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden as part of my MP surgery to discuss the constituent’s personal case.

Apprentices and Vocational Education: Solihull

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) degree apprenticeships and (b) higher technical education in Solihull.

Robert Halfon: Employers have designed over 155 high-quality degree level apprenticeship standards to support them to develop the skilled workforces they need. The department is working to expand these opportunities, so they are accessible to people across England, including in Solihull.The department is making up to £8 million available in the 2022/23 financial year to higher education institutions through the Strategic Priorities Grant to enable them to grow provision and form new employer partnerships.The department is promoting apprenticeships at all levels, including degree level, to young people through the Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge (ASK) programme. ASK ensures students across England are aware of the benefits of apprenticeships. From this autumn, UCAS will expand their service so that young people can see more personalised options, including apprenticeships. From 2024, students will be able to apply for apprenticeships through UCAS alongside an undergraduate degree application. This means thousands of more young people will benefit from a wider choice of high-quality options, and employers can benefit from better access to talent on UCAS.The department has worked with employers across the country to help them showcase higher and degree level apprenticeship vacancies. During National Apprenticeship Week, we published a listing featuring hundreds of vacancies that are available for people to apply for now, including in the West Midlands. This listing is available at: https://amazingapprenticeships.com/app/uploads/2022/11/Higher-Degree-Listing-FEB-2023.pdf.The department is delivering reforms to improve higher technical education, including by investing £300 million to establish 21 Institutes of Technology (IoT) across the country. IoTs are collaborations between employers, colleges and universities that focus on the higher level science, technology, engineering and mathematics skill needs of employers and learners. The department used £9 million of the capital funding to support the creation of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull IoT. This IoT opened in 2020 and delivers higher technical education in the advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors.The department has introduced Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). HTQs are level 4 to 5 qualifications providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers. Solihull College & University Centre, as part of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull IoT, received funding through the Higher Technical Education Growth Fund in 2022 to support the rollout of HTQs.The department is also introducing T Levels at Level 3, which provide a high quality route into Higher Technical Education. Solihull College and University Centre offer T Levels in Digital, and Solihull Sixth Form College will offer T Levels in Education and Childcare from September this year.

Childcare

Paul Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the total annual cost of providing (a) 30 hours a week of universal childcare for 48 weeks a year for children aged nine months to two years, (b) 30 hours a week of universal childcare for 48 weeks a year for children aged three and four, (c) 8.00am to 6.00pm wraparound for all primary-aged children and (d) 10 hours a day holiday childcare for 10 weeks a year for all primary-aged children assuming a (i) 50, (ii) 60 and (iii) 70 per cent take up of that provision.

Claire Coutinho: Making predictions about the future costs of extended early years and childcare provision is complex, and subject to significant uncertainty. It requires predicting the size of future cohorts of children as well as making assumptions about the rate at which the government will fund provision, which would be subject to consultation, how many parents will take up new offers and for how long.The department funds 15 hours a week of early education and care for all 3- and 4-year-olds in England for 38 weeks a year. It funds an additional 15 hours a week of early education and care for 3- and 4-year-olds in working families, also for 38 weeks a year. The department also funds 15 hours of free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds, which includes children with education, health and care (EHC) plans and looked after children, as well as families on low incomes. Further information is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.The department does not fund wraparound care for primary aged children. The department does fund the Holiday Activities and Food programme to disadvantaged children in England. At Spending Review 2021, the department announced it is investing over £200 million per year.The department publishes funding allocations for its existing early education entitlements for children aged 2, 3 and 4. Further information is available at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1124737%2FEarly_years_funding_rates_and_step-by-step_calculations_2023_to_2024.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK. These funding rates are not applicable to children aged from 9 months to 1 years old inclusive.The Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey also includes information on the hourly fees providers charge parents of children under 2, age 2, 3 and 4, and school age, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021.Expanding current entitlement offers to all children aged between 2 and 4, wraparound care for all primary-age children and additional holiday childcare could be estimated using population data published by the Office of National Statistics, available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland.